


Seeing Serendipity

by myheartgoesdokidoki



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Background Relationships, Bisexual Male Character, Fluff, Gay Character, Internalized Homophobia, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Love at First Sight, M/M, ShikaTema, inosai - Freeform, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25765708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myheartgoesdokidoki/pseuds/myheartgoesdokidoki
Summary: Inojin, a graphic design student at the Konoha University, received a mysterious cheesecake in some of his visits to the campus cafe. He was determined to find out about the sender of the cheesecake.
Relationships: Nara Shikadai/Yamanaka Inojin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Seeing Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> I missed these babies so much so here is a super quick oneshot for them, I hope you enjoy it!

With his drawing book and painting kit in tow, Inojin hummed quietly towards the Konoha Campus Cafe, his favorite place around the campus. As he entered the cafe, he took notice of a scene in front of him. There it goes again. A plate of strawberry cheesecake waiting beautifully on his reserved table, a note neatly written with words “For Inojin” accompanying it. Inojin was perplexed at the strange occurrence, but he sat down on the seat of the table nonetheless. He stared at the cheesecake closely, inspecting the details of the delicate, creamy dessert. He stared at Metal Lee who was cleaning the cups behind the counter. 

“Metal, is this from the same person?” Inojin asked. Metal stopped, and he cocked his head towards Inojin, but he was tightlipped. His hand nervously wiping around the coffee cup he just cleaned with a soft white cloth. “I can’t tell you”, 

Inojin sighed. It was his seventh cheesecake in two weeks. Whoever the sender was, Inojin could tell he was being strategic about it. The cheesecake was given sporadically, but Inojin realized he only received the cheesecake when he made a reservation. His impromptu visit to the cafe never warranted him his favorite dessert. The sender probably gave Metal Lee some kind of bribe to tell him the days when Inojin reserved a seat in the campus cafe.

It was true that cheesecake was one of Inojin's favorite foods. The cheesecake from the small campus cafe he frequented was his go-to order, alongside a cup of Americano. It was always the same menu, a habit he got from his father. The simplicity in routine allowed more space for the mind to be creative, his father once told him. He remembered the time when his mother pestered him and his father to bake a cheesecake together in one Sunday morning— luckily, the cheesecake turned out okay considering their mediocre baking skills, thanks to Aunt Karui’s recipe. Ah, he missed his parents so much, words could not describe his feelings properly. It had been a long time since he last saw them and the sudden thought of them created a hint of sorrow. He tried to shut off the thought and went back to his unfinished drawing.

The cafe was quiet and there was only the screeching sound of pencil against a paper. Inojin focused on the dots in front of him, before taking his paintbrush to dip it into lilac color. His eyes passed by the sight of the cheesecake that had been waiting for him even before he came to the cafe today. Inojin reflected. The more he received this mysterious cheesecake, the more it felt unsettling. Who would give him this? His ex girlfriend used to send him her homemade foods whenever he was finishing his deadlines, but she was never shy about it. He was not expecting her to come back to him anyway, and he was sure it was not from her. But the thought of the mysterious cheesecake kept bugging his mind. He needed to know once and for all, about who this person was. He tried to think of a way to nudge Metal into slipping some information.

“Hey, Metal”, Inojin broke the silence between them. “The sender of this cheesecake, is he cute?” Metal didn’t give him an answer, but his face turned red. Inojin smirked, he had known Metal long enough to know that his friend would not bother going lengths for whoever this person was if he was not good looking. 

“I take that as a yes”, Inojin continued, giving him his trademark saccharine smile. “How much tip did he give to you?”

“Y-you can’t know! He said I can’t tell you a-anything”, Metal stuttered all the way to his words, frantically clutching his hands to his white apron. Inojin chuckled softly. Soon he would get the information he needed, he was just biding his time.

“You don’t have to tell me who he is. I just want to know what he’s like”, said Inojin calmly. He was aware about Metal’s anxiety so he would not pressure him too much, but he still needed to gauge something out of this barista friend of his. Anything, any information would do. Hair color, eye color, fashion style, whatever. Inojin just realized now that Metal was shaking. 

“Argh, Metal, I’m sorry”, Inojin stood up and hurried to his side, giving Metal some gentle pats on his back. “You don’t have to tell me”, assured Inojin as he massaged Metal’s back lightly.

Metal humped his feet frantically, his body still trembling. His head tilted, staring at the transparent window of the cafe in horror. “O-oh no, h-he's here!”, he panicked. Inojin had an inclination to follow Metal's gaze, and found a tall figure standing from the opposite of the street. The sunlight fell upon the figure’s body, giving Inojin a clear look from afar. It was a man wearing lime green coat and black pants, his hair was put in a bun. Now Inojin remembered where he saw him before.

The figure suddenly walked away when he realized Inojin was staring at him. Without thinking much, Inojin lifted off his feet and sprinted off to outside of the cafe. The figure now was running, with Inojin following behind him.

“Hey, you! Wait!” Inojin shouted. He brushed with few people on the street but he did not bother, maintaining his hurried pace. The man kept running away from him. Inojin quickened his pace and caught him at the right time as the figure tripped over a slippery puddle on the street, his arms gripping the man’s body from behind. He sighed in relief when he could pull the slightly taller man to safety, Chocho’s insistence to teach him basic martial arts now found its purpose. Inojin’s heart beat faster as he straightened his posture, and the man turned his body towards him. His jade eyes clashing with his aquamarine ones.

“This is not how I expected it to be”, the dark-haired man smirked. He extended his hand towards Inojin, now his expression was apologetic. “Sorry for creeping you out, I will not do it again”, 

Inojin rolled his eyes. “I almost reported you to the police. But yes, apology accepted”, he took his hand in his, grasping at the warmth the other man offered. “You can just come and say hello next time, there is no need to go Edward Cullen on me”, Inojin continued, giving him a playful smile.

Shikadai scoffed lightly. “If only it were that simple”, His green eyes noting the details of the person standing in front of him. His smooth pale skin, his silky blonde hair, and his full pink lips. He was such a pretty sight, _but he was a boy_. How could Shikadai tell him that he liked him,but he was afraid of risking his reputation? He knew he would only be in this town for six months, but his parents’ competitors might have spies here who were ready to blackmail them if they caught him dating a boy. His parents had told him they would be supportive of whoever Shikadai wanted to date, but Shikadai was too aware of the public image their job had to maintain. Such was the bane of living in a homophobic culture. However, Shikadai’s impulse won. Carefully weighing the risk in his mind, he had decided that the pale blond man facing him was worth the risk.

After hearing the other man’s statement, Inojin frowned. “What makes you think that way?” Frankly, this dark-haired man enticed him. Inojin did not feel that it was necessary for him to be so avoidant, but maybe there would be more story about that. Standing in front of him was a man whom Inojin gave his Americano to, sometime around two weeks ago. The young man told Metal that he ran out of money. Inojin’s ears perked up and readily offered him his cup of coffee that had not been consumed. Inojin remembered this man giving him a simple thanks and he had yet to appear in the cafe after that. And now he was here, why could not he just say he wanted to pay back Inojin’s previous deed? The accident made things more unexpectedly complicated than what he previously thought.

People kept passing by them but the two men only focused on their shared presence, eyes locked on each other. The man with the green eyes bit his lip. “I just want to get to know you better”. He reached to the pocket of his green coat. “Here. Give me a call if you fancy a conversation”, 

Inojin accepted the name card and he looked at the small paper. “Shikadai Nara. Nice to meet you, I’m Inojin Yamanaka”, Now it was him who greeted the other man’s hand. Shikadai shook Inojin’s hand firmly, a grin appeared on his face. Inojin’s heart skipped another beat as Shikadai’s green eyes crinkled with his smile. In that moment, Inojin swore that he was the most beautiful creature he had ever met.

“Nice to meet you, Inojin. I’m new to this town. Do you want to grab a coffee sometime? For real now”, said Shikadai, his eyes could not hide his enthusiasm.

_Those green eyes, oh my_ . Inojin nodded almost too eagerly. “I can do Saturdays. Let’s meet at the Konoha Campus Cafe”. Then his memory was reminded of his barista friend in the cafe, _shit_ , he needed to return quickly after Shikadai confirmed their meetup. Inojin prayed that he would.

Shikadai could feel his excitement pooling up in his belly when Inojin accepted the invitation. It had been such a long time since he felt these butterflies. He still thought the embarrassing accident was such a drag, but the turn of events was better than anything he had ever strategized. He quietly thanked the lucky stars for this serendipity, as he drowned deep in those blue eyes. “Awesome. See you this Saturday”,

**Author's Note:**

> So... that's it, I hope you like the story! Please do not hesitate to share if you have any feedback or suggestions ^^


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